


until our ribs get tough (that will never be enough)

by worry



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4440944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worry/pseuds/worry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is <i> nothing</i> about Tom that is cute. Except for his hair, and his eyes (God, his <i>eyes</i>), and the way he blushes and... <i>shit</i>, Marco has it bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	until our ribs get tough (that will never be enough)

 

1\. Tom tears him away from Star, throws him on the ground, and Marco recoils in pain - much,  _much_ pain, radiating from his chest and arms. Marco should be able to take the pain. It's burning, but decidedly manageable. Except...

 

Except there's something about Tom's anger that leaves Marco shivering and trembling and  _paralyzed._

 

_That dance was meant for me._

 

He gives a sad attempt at moving backwards, but ultimately stays stuck in his spot on the floor. Tom is above ground, now,  _flaming,_ getting ready to destroy him, and all Marco can do is think about -  _well._ All Marco finds himself capable of doing is thinking about how rather  _hypnotizing_ Tom is - that's the first word that comes to mind,  _hypnotizing_ \- and getting ready for his destruction.

 

Okay, Marco can take him. He knows karate, and even though Tom has  _fire_ and  _wrath,_ Marco thinks -  _hopes,_ at the least - that he has a chance.

 

 _Oh._ Oh. Okay. Star freezes him in a block of ice. That works, too.

 

(If it came down to it, Marco probably would have lost the fight, and ended up...  _something._ A pile of dust and ash. An unrecognizable mess of black and blue.)

 

When he collects himself, he bites down into his cheek -  _hypnotizing. There's nothing hypnotizing about Tom,_ he tells himself.  _He wanted to destroy you. Don't forget that._

 

2\. It happens so  _fast:_ one moment, Tom is  _flaming,_ and the next, he has Marco pinned against a wall. _  
_

 

"This is what you get for stealing my girl," Tom hisses.

 

"I didn't steal her!" Marco protests. "Promise, I don't like Star in that way. And..."

 

"And what?"

 

"And I don't think she's your girl anymore, Tom. She doesn't like you."

 

He really,  _really_ shouldn't be talking back to a demon that has him by the wrists.

 

"You're wrong," Tom whispers, low and raspy, "you take it back."

 

"No," Marco tells him. "What are you gonna do about it?"

 

A light goes on in Tom's eyes - "This," he says, and pulls Marco into a deep, wrathful kiss.

 

Marco kisses back, and wakes up screaming.

 

He tries not to think about the fact that he had a dream about making out with Star's ex boyfriend, who also happens to be a  _demon_ who once wanted to  _destroy_ him, but it bubbles in the back of his mind.

 

In the morning, he can't look Star in the eye.

 

3\. The next time that he sees Tom, Tom tries to apologize.

 

Marco has nearly forgotten about the Blood Moon Ball, by now, but Tom hasn't - Tom  _says_ that he's really gotten his anger under control since then, this time it's  _for real,_ and _I really liked you, Marco_ and -

 

"I really liked you, Marco, y'know?" Tom says.

 

_I really liked you._

 

Marco doesn't shiver when he hears it. He  _doesn't_.

 

"If you liked me, why did you try to destroy me?"

 

"I got angry when I saw you with Star, and the blood moon, and..." Tom sighs, and shakes his head. "Forget it. Again - I'm sorry, Marco.  _Really._ "

 

Marco turns away, and considers forgiving him. On one hand, Tom is  _trying,_ and his apology seems sincere - on the other hand, Tom is cute when he's apologetic, and that's unforgivable. Tom is  _not_ cute. There is  _nothing_ about Tom that is cute. Except for his hair, and his eyes (God, his  _eyes_ ), and the way he blushes and...  _shit,_ Marco has it  _bad._ _  
_

 

Marco has a _crush_ on a demon. Okay. He can't ignore it anymore.

 

"Apology accepted," Marco sighs, finally.

 

4\. Star drags Marco down into Tom's world for something, and Marco makes sure that he doesn't run into Tom, anywhere. He looks both ways and watches where he walks. He absolutely  _cannot_ run into Tom - he doesn't know  _what_ will happen if he does, but he doesn't want to find out.

 

There are only so many ways it could go:

 

  1. Marco devolves into a blushing, stuttering thing, and makes a total fool of himself. Stupid, stupid Marco.
  2. Marco stares at Tom for a little bit  _too_ long, and Tom notices. Stupid, stupid Marco.
  3. Tom is  _excited_ to see them - Star, mostly,  _of course_ \- and goes a bit overboard. Marco blushes, again. Stupid, stupid Marco.
  4. Tom is furious at the sight of seeing Marco with Star. Stupid, stupid Tom.



 

None of these options are particularly appealing, and Star and Marco leave the dimension without ever seeing Tom.

 

Marco doesn't even try to hide his disappointment.

 

Stupid, stupid Marco.

 

5\. Star accidentally calls Tom on her mirror, and Marco watches.

 

"Hey, Star!" Tom beams. "How have you been? Oh, and uh... hey, Marco."

 

Star rolls her eyes. "I've been  _fine,_ " she says, "and you?"

 

"Okay," Tom nods. "I missed you a lot."

 

"Goodbye, Tom," Star says, and turns to switch off her mirror - Marco stops her.

 

"Hey, uh, Star, what's the rush?"

 

"What?" She blinks. "Marco?"

 

"You know, we could talk for a while."

 

Star turns to Tom. "I don't think Marco's feeling well today," she says, and hangs up on him.

 

"What'd you do that for?" Marco shouts.

 

"Why do you want to be friends with Tom, all of a sudden? Remember the ball?" Star asks.

 

"I don't know," Marco says, and sinks. "I'm sorry, Star."

 

Star lights up. "Oh," she says, "I know why! You  _like_ Tom, don't you?"

 

Marco blushes. "Of course not, I just-"

 

"You've been acting weird since the last time we saw him," Star tells him. "It all makes sense now. You've got a thing for my ex-boyfriend."

 

"Fine," Marco says, sighing. "Maybe a  _little_ bit."

 

"This is so cool!" Star shouts. Marco did  _not_ expect this - he expected something like _gross, Marco,_ but not  _this._ "I think you guys would be great together." _  
_

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah," Star nods.

 

6\. There's a knock on Marco's front door.

 

"Star," Marco calls from his spot on the couch, "can you get it? I'm too lazy to get up right now."

 

"No," Star shouts back. "I mean, uh, I can't right now. You should get it."

 

"What? Why not?"

 

"Just answer the door, Marco."

 

"Fine," Marco says, climbing off of the couch and making his way to the door. "Who's there?"

 

He opens the door, and nearly falls backwards.

 

It's Tom.

 

"Hey," Marco says, shifting uncomfortably on his feet, "what are you doing here?"

 

"Star invited me," Tom frowns. "She said it was important."

 

Marco is going to  _kill_ her.

 

"Come in," he sighs. 

 

7\. "Star, you mind telling me why Tom's in our house?" Marco asks, knocking on Star's bedroom door.

 

Star pokes her head out of the door. "I thought you guys could use some bonding time," she says, and winks. "You know," she whispers, " _just the two of you_. Alone. Together."

 

"Star, stop-"

 

" _That's_ why you invited me here?" Tom shouts. "I thought that something really bad was happening!" 

 

"Something bad  _is_ happening," Star tells him. "Marco will  _die_ if he doesn't get to know you."

 

"Oh," Tom sighs. "I don't want Marco to die."

 

"She wasn't being serious, I'm not gonna--" Marco starts, but Tom takes his arm and Marco stops cold.

 

"Come on," Tom says. "I can help you."

 

8\. "I promise you, I'm not as bad as you probably think I am," Tom says.

 

"I don't think you're bad," Marco says, after a while.

 

"You don't?" 

 

"No. I think you have some problems, yeah, but you aren't  _bad._ "

 

"That means a lot," Tom laughs. "I thought you, like, hated me or something."

 

"No," Marco frowns. "I like you."

 

Tom looks at him.

 

"I, um, I meant that I don't-"

 

"I like you too," Tom says.

 

Marco lets out an  _oh._  

 

"You know that Star was being dramatic, right?" He says. "I'm not really going to die."

 

"I know that."

 

"Then why did you act like-"

 

"Because I like you, too."

 

"Yeah, I get that, but-"

 

"Marco," Tom says, firmly, "I'm not stupid. I know about your little crush on me."

 

Tom is only guessing, he doesn't _know,_ but judging by Marco's reaction - blushing, fiddling with his fingers, looking away - he can tell that his guess was correct.

 

"Oh my god," Tom breathes. "You actually do."

 

"I'm sorry," Marco says. "I'm sorry Star told you to come here. I'm sorry for liking you. I'm sorry for being so weird. I'm  _sorry._ "

 

"Don't worry about it." Tom sighs. " _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing. I - I've - I think it started that day, when I said I was sorry about the blood moon ball, you know? Remember that? The only thing that I wanted was your approval, to feel okay again. And I didn't know why, at the time."

 

"Okay, so-"

 

"Can I kiss you?" Tom asks, quickly.

 

"Only if you promise to stop interrupting me when I try to talk."

 

Tom laughs. "I promise."

 

He pulls Marco into a kiss, and Marco feels complete -  _finally._

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> "You're the only friend I need  
> Sharing beds like little kids  
> Laugh until our ribs get tough  
> But that will never be enough" - Ribs // Lorde
> 
> Laughs, this fic suuuuuuuuuucks and I know I can do so so much better, but. For now, take this piece of garbage. Lmao


End file.
